Gesshoku
by Sencha-san
Summary: Years after the untimely death of Sakura, a young girl at a boarding school in England opens a mysterious book in the library... Story rated for safety; IE, some swearing.
1. Introduction of the Iris

The images came in an almost-blur…some stood out from the rest

_A full moon lit a scene at midnight, casting long shadows and throwing a grassy field into high relief._

_On the grass lay an intricately decorated green staff, about forty feet away. With molasses-in-January slowness that comes in dreams, the girl realized that she __**needed**__ that staff. Without it…_

_She attempted to get up, tried to reach it, but it was use less. She was too worn out, used up, unable to go on. There was no way she could make her body move._

_Just as she began to accept that she had lost, a shadow started to creep across the moon-_

**April 1**

A loud noise split the deafening silence inside the dream.

"Ayame! Wake up! It's SUNNY!!"

"What the-"

The screeching noise that had rescued her from the weirdest dream she'd ever had burst into her room.

"It's SPRING Ayame!! SPRIIIIIIINGG!!"

"Bloody hell- Lindsay, it's been spring for almost three weeks now!" Ayame croaked, not completely awake yet.

The overly cheerful girl ran around the room jumping for joy. "But it's SUNNY today MeyMey!!" Lindsay said opening the window and letting in said sunshine "That means today is the official First Day of Spring!!"

Ayame rubbed groggy eyes as she retorted "That doesn't make any sense! And would you quit calling me that?!"

"No way, MeyMey." Lindsay said as she giggled at her own cliché rhyme.

Ayame gave the girl the coldest glare she could muster in her bleary, early-morning state. "I'm going back to sleep," she said as she rolled over.

"Ah ah ah! We have to go to school!" Lindsay attempted to shake her out of her grogginess.

Ayame groaned. "Fine." She croaked "I'm getting up. Go annoy Sarah, or someone."

Lindsay happily skipped out, saying "I'll see you in Algebra!"

_I hate her._ Ayame thought as she dragged her, quite groggy, self into her school uniform.

_But…what was with that dream?_

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Various students bustled around, vying to get to their respective classes on time, as one ran to finish an errand.

She threw open the door marked **High School English** and greeted the red-haired woman behind the desk breathlessly.

"Morning (gasp) Ms. Moore."

"Good morning Miss Hazel. To what do I owe this honor?"

Ayame handed the woman a manila envelope. "Professor Harksford asked me to hand this to you (wheeze) on my way to class."

Ms. Moore raised an eyebrow. "Isn't your first class in the Science building? On the other side of the campus?" she glanced at her watch "In two minutes?"

The girl sprang up, looking at her own watch. "Shit- Excuse me, mum."

And with that she bolted out of the room, wailing "I'm going to be late, _again!_"

Ms. Moore just smiled and opened the envelope.

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_My name is Ayame Hazel, I'm 14 years old, and I live at Brennan Academy_ _Institute of Learning._

_Well, I don't live __here__, exactly, but for a good chunk of the year, yeah. _

_Nothing is extraordinary or special about me. I'm pretty much just…me. Yeah. Something like that. _

_So basically this paper is a waste of time, and I think you need to think up a better assignment, Professor._

"Miss Hazel, would you kindly see me after class?" The dark-skinned man called softly, not wanting to disturb his reading students.

A clear bell tolled across the campus.

"Now then, Miss Hazel?"

"Yes sir."

As students filed out, Professor Clifton showed Ayame the paper he had been reading. "Why do you make my life so complicated?" he sighed, exasperated.

The girl laughed nervously.

"I really don't understand why you think this is a 'waste of time', as you put it," he said lightly. "You don't want to write a paper about yourself?"

"It's not that I _don't_, sir…" she replied, fiddling with her bag. "It's just that I really don't see anything that you might find fascinating about me. You did say to include 'interesting facts about ourselves'." She shrugged.

"Didn't you live in Japan? That's 'interesting'."

Ayame gave him a glare.

"Oh. Right. Well, I am sure you can think of something. Just write about things you like to do, types of books you like, whatever."

She sighed. "I'll try, sir."

"Good." Professor Clifton gave her a rare smile. "I'll expect another rough draft by Thursday."

"Yes sir."

And with that she left.

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"Hey! Lady!"

Ayame swung around to stare at what looked like a student from Brennan Academy's new elementary faction.

The boy grabbed a lock of Ayame's shoulder length hair and yanked.

"You know you're not supposed to have colored hair, Lady!"

"Huh?" she replied eloquently.

"Your hair." He yanked his fistful again, before Ayame slapped his hand away. "Your hair is purple. You're not 'lowed to have colored hair, Lady."

She looked at the boy oddly before realization set in.

"Oh." She pointed at her head. "My hair is not purple, kid."

The boy insisted that it was.

" It's just the way the sunlight hits it. Look." She held up a book to the sun.

"Hey, it's black now!"

"Actually, it's dark brown, but whatever."

The boy cocked his head to one side and said; "I _did_ think it was odd that you would dye your hair purple when you have green eyes. You have very pretty eyes, Lady."

Ayame covered her mouth with one hand as she blushed deeply. "Don't you have class now? Shoo!" She waved a hand at him as if he were a pest.

He giggled and waved, half-running away.

The bells tolled once again, startling the girl into a run.

...

_So begins the eclipse._


	2. The Book

Tap

**April 1 (continued)**

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Ayame frowned at the blank sheet of paper in front of her.

_Tap. Tap. Tap tap._

"Professor Clifton…why did he have to give us such a dumb assignment?" she muttered to herself.

_Tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap._

She glared at the paper, as if it were its fault that she couldn't think of anything to write.

_Tippity tap. Tippity tap. Tippity tap._

Here she was, sitting in the middle of a library that was a student's dream come true, and not a single book could help her with the project that she needed to complete in two days.

"I'll bet that's why he gave us this prompt, that old geezer." She muttered darkly, glancing at a worn strip of paper to her left.

_**Write an essay describing who you think you are. Must be at least one thousand words.**_

_Tippitytippitytippitytippitytippitytippitytippity-_

In a fit of frustration, Ayame threw her wildly tapping pencil away. She shoved herself away from her table, leaving the blank sheet of paper behind.

...

Briskly, she strolled through rows of books without purpose, just letting herself get lost in depths of the library. As she began to calm down, she started randomly taking books off shelves, flipping through them and putting them back, with the same sense of aimlessness. One book would attract her attention for a moment, before being placed carefully back in its place with the rest of its wordy comrades.

Before long, Ayame found herself in a dusty corner of the library that she had never visited before. Absently she brushed year's worth of grey powder off of volumes, reading titles such as: _A Beginners Guide_ _to Professional Fortunetelling_, and_ Ways of the Orient-A Study of Eastern Magic by S.H. Reed_

_These are books on…magic?_ Ayame pondered. She fingered the tomes with a higher respect, and an even higher curiosity. Magic was normally a precarious subject at her school, due to the fact that the Headmaster had expressly forbidden anything having to do with any sort of sorcery or witchcraft almost 25 years ago, according to rumor.

"What are all these books _doing_ here, then?" Ayame said to herself.

A single red book that seemed to be significantly less covered in grit suddenly stood out among the rest. With shaking hands, she carefully picked it up and examined it.

On the front cover, a golden winged lion was the centerpiece. A sun was set in front of him. The back cover boasted an intricate design within a circle, below which stood a winged crescent moon. Both sides read 'The Clow'

"The Clow…" Ayame repeated breathlessly, feeling a strange sort of attraction to the book.

Somehow, holding this book was making her sweat coldly, made her heart beat far too loudly and far too fast. She was already quaking noticeably. Why?

Slowly, nervously, her hand flipped the latch that held the book closed, and almost obediently, it fell open in her lap.

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"Oi, kid! Wake up! You okay?!"

Ayame brought a hand up to her throbbing head. "Bloody _hell_..." she croaked. Somehow, she had wound up lying next to a bookshelf on the opposite side of the square that the shelves made.

What had happened? All she remembered was opening the book…

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly.

"The book!" she cried.

Where was it? She had just been holding it-

Oh. There it was. Why was it over there? Did she drop it?

"Oi, you okay kid? You looked like you hit your head pretty hard…"

Ayame looked to see where the voice was coming from.

A large, yellow face filled her vision.

"HOEEEEEH!!" she yelled, scooting herself backwards rapidly.

It…whatever it was…looked to be a tiny, yellow, flying plush bear with wings.

Ayame hid her face in her hands. "I _definitely _hit my head too hard…"

An indignant voice rang out; "Hey! I ain'ta hallucination!!"

She hesitantly held out her hands for it to land on. "Then…what exactly _are_ you?"

The creature stuck a flamboyant pose. "I am…Keroberos, Beast of the Seal!"

"Seal? What seal?"

"The seal on this book of course!" Keroberos glowed a little and the book Ayame had opened floated over to where they were. With a little more seriousness in his tone, he added; "A seal which _you _broke, by the way."

"I…broke?"

"Yeah. I tried to warn you, but by the time I realized what you were doing, it was too late."

Ayame stared at him with an expression that conveyed a mix between horror, confusion and shock.

"Why in the world was there a seal like that on a _book_?" she whispered.

"Well," stated Keroberos "It was necessary. You see, there were Clow Cards in that book."

"…What?"

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Back in her dorm room, Ayame set her electric teakettle to boil and faced the creature sitting on her bed.

"So Keroberos, any luck finding those cards?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I didn't think I would have any. By the way, where are we? Before I fell asleep we were in Tomoeda..."

"Well, the town that's closest to here is Tunbridge Wells. That's about 70 kilometers south of London if-"

"Wait, London as in _England_?" he asked incredulously.

"Er…yeah. Didn't you notice I was speaking English?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "Languages all seem the same to me."

Ayame sat down in her desk chair. "Before, you mentioned that I broke some sort of seal on…'Clow Cards'. What are Clow Cards?"

"Well, they were made by a magician named Clow Reed. They're a set of magical cards, with powers and personalities all their own.

"And when the seal on them is broken…a disaster will come to this world."

Ayame put her head in her hands again. "Oh no. This is really, really bad, isn't it?"

"Pretty much, yeah." he replied grimly.

A thought entered her head. She crawled over to her bed and sat down in front of him.

"Is there some way I can get them back?" she asked frantically.

Keroberos scratched his head. "Well, there _is_, but-"

"I'll do it! If it'll stop a disaster from coming, I'll do it!!"

She stood, frozen like that, as he gave her a long, searching look.

A half-smile crossed his yellow face as he shrugged. "Well, you broke the seal, so I guess you must have _some_ magic."

Ayame's eyebrows shot up. What in the world was he talking about?

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"A-Ayame."

"Alright then Ayame, if you'll just back up a little, and move that chair-" She did so. "Then…"

The Clow book that rested beside Keroberos began to glow, and the room disappeared, replaced by a grey-green expanse. The same circle that adorned the back of the book glistened underneath them.

Ayame tore her eyes away from their new surroundings when Keroberos began to speak softly.

"Key of the Seal." A tiny ball of light rose from the lock on the book and came to hover between them.

"A person is here who wishes to make a contract with you. A girl. Her name is Ayame."

Ayame felt the distinct sensation of being examined for a split second, before Keroberos went on.

"Key, give her the power! _**RELEASE!**_"

The girl yelled as an intense light obscured her vision. Through the haze, she noticed that the same design that was the motif of the back of the book lay under her feet.

"Ayame! Take the staff!!" Keroberos yelled through the mayhem.

"What?!" She yelled back at him.

"The staff! In front of you! You have to grab it!"

Ayame groped blindly until her fingers met wood. She grasped it and the light died down slowly.

The pure white staff in her hands turned a clear, deep green that spread from where her hands touched it. The head of the staff was entirely made of a pale gold, shaped like a bird's head, and a black opal served for eyes.

The teakettle beeped, signaling that the water was ready. She ignored it in favor of turning over the staff slowly in her hands, examining it from every angle.

"So…what is this?" Ayame asked Keroberos. "What did I just do?"

"You just became The Cardcaptor!!" he replied boisterously.

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So, she had flunked a Biology test, been reprimanded by her English Professor, _and _been assigned to defeat and capture a set of powerful, highly dangerous, magic cards that she had somehow scattered.

All in one morning. Simply delightful.

Ayame fingered the bird-shaped key that now hung around her neck in bewilderment.

Someone behind her poked her shoulder, hard. "Hazel, the Professor just called on you!"

"Huh?" she said belatedly. A few people sniggered. Obviously, someone had been trying to get her attention for a while.

"Would you care to answer the question, Miss Hazel?" her Algebra teacher said, falsely sweet.

"Er, yes ma'am." She replied quickly. Desperately, she glanced at her neighbor, Lindsay, for assistance.

"_Number 14." _She mumbled.

"_I owe you." _Ayame whispered back quietly. She stood up and looked at her book. "If Ralph sold £11,000 worth of furniture and his rate of commission is 2.1, how much…"

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Just as the sun touched the horizon, a girl barreled into her room.

"Keroberos! Is this it?!" she yelled, shaking the yellow creature awake. She presented him a red and gold strip of paper that she held.

He took it out of her grip. "Yeah! This is '**The Wood**'! Where did you find this?" he questioned her.

"It was just stuck under a painting in the house common room! Pretty neat huh?" she plucked the card out of his tiny paws as she spoke. "So, what does this do, exactly?"

"You have to write your name on it." He said, pointing to the card. "It won't listen to you otherwise." She pulled out a pen and carefully wrote her name down as he continued. "And you can find out what it does later. Don't you have an essay to write?"

She stiffened noticeably.

"I'll get to it later!" She said, placing the card on her desk, as she ran out the door. "I'm going to dinner; I'll sneak you up something, ok?"

The door slammed as her retreating steps resounded down the hall.

Keroberos sighed and flopped himself down on the bed. "I wonder if he'll ever forgive me if she actually succeeds" He closed his eyes. "It's only been about fifteen years since Sakura died, after all."


	3. Trials of a Down

**April 10**

"Ayame!!" bellowed Keroberos from his vantage point on the dorm roof. "Do it now! Do exactly what I told you!"

Ayame took a deep breath and faced the dizzily spinning, kaleidoscope-like pattern. She raised her staff in front of her.

"Return to the guise you were created to be in…**Clow Card**!"

The now somewhat-familiar circle appeared under her feet as the figure before her dissolved into the rainbow of light at the end of her staff. When it was all over, the newly sealed card floated to her hand.

"**The Illusion**…" She read off the card.

"I thought it might be that." Keroberos muttered, hovering down to her. "**Illusion** tricks people by making them see things they are thinking about."

"Was that why it looked like a giant pork pie?" she inquired

"Are you hungry?"

"Very much so."

"Then yeah."

Ayame sighed and put the card in her bag. "I'm starved. I'm going to dinner. You want to sneak in my bag again?"

His face lit up. "YEAH!" he yelled, pumping his fist into the air as he did so.

A she opened her bag again for him to hide in she said, "I just can't understand why you like our school's food so much. _I _think it's rather nasty, most of the time."

"Ah, but the chef has won me over." He said blissfully. "She gives you _pudding_."

"And then _I_ have to give it to _your_ gluttonous self. Just be glad I have such a _kind_, _self-sacrificing_ nature, or I'd keep it all to myself."

"But…but…then I'd starve for sure!" he replied tearfully.

She looked at him with cocked eyebrows. "Didn't you say yourself that you don't need to eat?"

"Well yeah, but it's fun!!" he said in his energetic way. Ayame sighed and smiled.

"In the bag, fur-face, we're almost at the dining hall." she told him lightly.

"Watch who you're calling 'fur-face', kid!"

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Ayame grimaced at the watered-down curry in front of her as she handed her pudding (strawberry-flavored tonight…) to the creature inside her bag.

"What are doing with that pudding, MeyMey?" declared an annoyingly cheerful voice in front of her.

Lindsay. Of course, she would be here.

"Just…saving it to take to my room?" she responded awkwardly.

"Oh. Okay." She sat down across from Ayame. "Want mine too? I hate strawberry." She didn't wait for an answer, just throwing the cup towards her. Ayame just barely caught it. "By the way, how did you do on that English paper you were talking about? We have different class schedules so…"

"Oh, that? I turned in the final paper this morning. I probably didn't do a very good job on it though."

A boy throwing a letter on the table and saying "Mail for you, Hazel" interrupted their conversation.

A quick scan of the envelope brought a grin to Ayame's face. "It's from Nana!" she exclaimed, standing up as she did so. "Sorry, Lindsay, but I want to read this…"

The girl cut her off. "Say no more! I'll throw your stuff out for you."

Ayame give her a quick hug from across the table. "Thank you! And thanks for the pudding!" she said as she darted out.

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Ayame threw her bag on the floor and jumped onto her bed, letter clutched in hand.

With an indignant yelp, Keroberos flew out of the bag. "Did you _forget_ that I was in there?!" he screeched.

"Sorry." She replied, too absorbed in the letter to care.

"Ah well, at least I have _two_ puddings to absolve my misfortune!" he said blissfully.

Ayame jerked her head up. "Hey, one of those is _mine._" She said firmly. "I give you my pudding _every night_."

"But-"

"No." she said, returning to her letter.

Keroberos hovered over her shoulder. "You said that's from your Nana?"

"Yep."

"Whozat?"

Blinking twice she faced him. "Well…she's my Nana. She's taken care of me since I was little."

"What about your parents?" he asked frankly.

Ayame sighed. "Well, my mom's dead, and my dad isn't around."

Keroberos raised an eyebrow. "'Isn't around'? Why not?"

"Nana says he travels the world on business and never has time to visit. He does send Christmas cards though. Can I finish my letter?"

The winged animal crossed his arms and legs in midair, pondering what she had said. When she took a deep breath and finally set the letter down, he came out of his 'thinking position'.

"What did it say?" he asked.

"The neighbor's new barn caught on fire, lawyer's daughter got married, cleaning out the attic, things like that." Even though she said it with a clear tone, she was frowning.

His eyebrow went up again. When Ayame turned and saw him she smiled, but there was no humor in her face.

"At the end," she continued, glancing again at the piece of paper in her hands, "she says; 'Please try not to get yourself hurt. I know you are a big girl now and can take care of yourself, but I still worry. It's a big thing you've set out to do, so please be careful.'"

She looked at Keroberos again. "Sounds pretty cryptic to me."

"…But there's no way she could know about the Cards!" he said worriedly.

Ayame shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno. She's always had this weird thing where she just seems to know…_everything_. One time, she knew I'd break my arm an hour before I did."

"Like a 6th sense…" he replied breathlessly.

"I suppose if you want to put it that way, you could. Still rather scares me."

"Hmm. So, whatcha gonna do?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. Even if she does know, or suspect, I can't exactly just come out and tell her, can I?" Lying down on the bed, she closed her eyes in thought. "I have to keep as many people out of this as possible, if these Cards are as dangerous as you say. She can believe what she likes. I'm keeping her out of it."

Keroberos looked at her contemplatively.

All through the rest of the evening, as Ayame went about doing schoolwork and things like that, he sat in deep thought.

The pudding went untouched.

"Looks like I made a good choice after all." He muttered finally as she was going to sleep, a drowsy grin resting on his face.

**April 11**

A half-asleep Ayame rushed to make it to her next class, nearly bowling over a fellow student in the process.

"Hey! What's where you're _going_, you lumbering idiot!!"

Never mind. She had bowled them over. The disaster area of books and paper and whatnot were proof.

Ayame sighed. Moreover, what a person she had decided to annoy today.

Frosted blue eyes glared at her, framed by white-blond hair that blinded in the fluorescent light.

She mentally slapped herself. Why, _why_ today had she collided with Martha Hale?

Martha Hale. Bane of the lives of about 78 of the student population of Brennan Academy. She was a senior this year, thank heaven, but she still existed to make the lives of any underclassmen entirely miserable.

And today was Ayame's turn. Damn.

"Get up and pick up this mess _immediately_! I will not be late because of some idiotic freshman!" she screeched.

The best way to deal with Hale was just to do what she says and get out of there quickly. Ayame rapidly picked up her things, putting them in her bag, ignoring a dull, white-hot anger in her chest.

A red and gold bit caught her eye. _A Clow Card? _She thought. _That's odd…I don't remember packing them this morning…_ She picked it up.

All of a sudden, the Card was snatched out of her hand. "That's _mine,_ you moron." Martha snarled. She sashayed away after giving Ayame a nasty glare, still muttering about 'dumb underclassmen' and 'respect for property'.

Ayame just stood there, mouth still open in shock.

_What the __bloody__ hell? _

**April 12**

While Ayame still didn't quite understand how Hale got the Clow Card in the first place, there was one thing she _did_ know;

She needed to get that card, and _fast_.

Enter Operation: Get The Card. It was short, simple, and to the point.

Wave 1- Stalk Martha Hale. This wasn't exactly on the original plan, but in order to execute waves 2 and 3, it was necessary.

Wave 1 was already in motion.

Ayame leaned against the hallway's wall, watching Hale chatter animatedly with her friends. She was showing them the card, most likely bragging about it. If only she would _shut up_, and _walk away_, then Wave 2 could start…

Uh oh. Cue disaster. Mayday.

Time-stopping silence reigned for all of five seconds as Headmaster Lowe walked up behind Martha Hale.

"Miss Hale," he said dangerously "Tarot cards are forbidden on school grounds."

Always the foolish overconfident, Martha stood her ground. "Headmaster, my _personal_ belongings are my own business, with all due respect sir."

The Headmaster was not one of those jolly old people. He was critical, demanding, and harsh when he needed to be. The color and amount of his hair did not lend to the iron fist with which he managed Brennan Academy. Speaking to him so lightly was never the best idea.

But then again, who told rich people what to do?

"Miss Hale, I'm afraid I must confiscate that card. It defies school regulations."

To her credit, Martha was amazingly brave. Insane, but brave. Same thing really, if you think about it. .

"_I'm _afraid I must refuse. It is my property, and I refuse to impart it."

Headmaster Lowe's eyes narrowed. "Do you wish to be suspended Miss Hale?"

"If you do, my father will withhold his funding from you." She replied, smirking wickedly.

A small audience was beginning to form around them. Ayame had to maneuver quickly to keep an eye on the card.

_Dangerous_ didn't even _begin_ to describe the headmaster's tone. "Young lady. Are you_ threatening me?"_

Martha's valiance evaporated in an instant.

"I will ask you one _last _time. _Give me the card._"

The second before it happened, Ayame knew what was about to take place. Before she could even squeak though, Headmaster Lowe seized the card and jerked it out of Martha's hand.

It ripped right down the middle.

A sound that wasn't a sound reverberated in the air around them at an ear-splitting level. If forced to describe it, Ayame would have called it a scream, but it wasn't. It brought to mind old vampire movies, but on a much more horrifying level.

As it was, she fell to the ground, fighting to protect her ears from something that couldn't be heard.

…It…was still screaming when she opened her eyes 50 meters away from where she had been standing a moment ago. Folding her arms around her ears had protected her head when the extreme wind had thrown everyone into the vicinity into walls, knocking them stone unconscious.

It was a disaster. A mini-tornado was methodically ripping apart the wall and everything else.

_Get it to stop, get it to stop… _she repeated in her head, like a mantra.

Running towards it, she yelled "HEY! CALM DOWN!" It was useless. The wind-creature was infuriated.

Again and again she was blown back, but she still kept trying to touch it, to pacify it. After the fifth or sixth try, she got her first glimpse of what it looked like.

She (because Ayame was now positive it was a she) would have been graceful and beautiful if she didn't look like she was in such _pain_. She was pale yellow-gold in color, with a hint of something green on her forehead. Plumes of wind made up her hair and wings.

_I guess this is my first real trial as the Cardcaptor._ She mused. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her key necklace off.

"Key that hides the powers of the dark, show your true form before me."

The wind-creature paused for a half-moment, as if surprised by her words. Ayame continued.

"I, Ayame, command you under power of our contract. **Release.**"

The key extended into the full-length wand. Ayame grabbed it out of the air. That card was going down, one way or another.

Just as she began to raise the wand ominously, the card fell to the ground in a heap. The wind moved in on itself, swirling even more violently in the smaller space that it encompassed.

Ayame felt a pang of fear for the card. Walking forward, she stood in front of the coil of air that surrounded its main body. She raised her wand again slightly, brushing back wetness from her cheeks.

"Return to the guise you were meant to be in, **Clow Card**!"

Gently, almost gracefully, the card returned to it's original form. When it fell into her hand, the two halves of the card were barely connected.

Now, she let the tears that she had been holding back flow. Keroberos. Keroberos would know what to do.

Clutching the card to her chest, she ran.


	4. Hunter, Hunted

April 12 (continued)

**April 12 (continued)**

Students and teachers swarmed around the disaster area that the card had made, some dragging injured people out of the mess, some trying to clear the place out. There were sirens in the far distance.

Only Ayame was running as fast as she could in the other direction. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched something unseen to herself.

Still tearing along like hell was at her feet, she ran into a building marked 'Kauffmann House', up two flights of stairs and into the sixth door to the right.

As she threw the door open, Keroberos flew up to her. "Ayame, what's wrong? Some of your classmates were saying that there was a gas explosion just now…"

With a _'thunk',_ she fell to the floor, the split card resting in her lap.

"What the…"

When Ayame raised her face to him, it was red and covered with tears. "It's all my fault. She ripped and it's all my fault."

She burst into tears again, holding her head in her hands. Keroberos looked at her in a panicked fashion for a few seconds, then smiled a little and patted her head. "Oi, it's okay! Stop that now. You can fix her!"

"…Huh?" Ayame replied belatedly.

"I said, you can fix her! Now calm down, and stand up." He handed her a handkerchief.

Ayame wiped her face and tenderly picked up the mangled card. "B-but how…what do I do?"

"It'll be fine. C'mon, stand up." He said gently, picking up one of her hands. She dazedly followed his lead.

"Take a deep breath."

She inhaled.

"All y' need to do is run a current of your magic through the card. Do you think you can do that?"

Ayame nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating. After a few seconds, the tear in the card began to glow and then, slowly, so slowly, it molded itself together, as if an invisible zipper pulled it closed.

Finished, she opened her eyes and looked at the repaired card with relief in her eyes.

"**Windy**, huh…" she muttered. Suddenly, she swayed on her feet, nearly falling over. Keroberos shrieked and grabbed her school shirt in his teeth, dragging her to her feet.

"You okay?!" he asked worriedly.

"Just a bit dizzy…" Ayame answered.

**April 13**

"_Are you sure that you're quite all right? I can take you out of school for a week or two if you would like. You must have had quite a shock."_

"Really Nana, I'm fine."

"_Maybe you should come home for a bit. Just a short vacation."_

Ayame groaned. "Nana, I have school to do, and I'm not injured. I'm alright, really. The 'pipe explosion' did not hit me. I've told you that already!"

"_You know I still worry about you."_

"Yes, I know."

A sigh came over the phone. _"Alright then. I will let you go. Try not to kill yourself, alright?"_

"Yes Nana."

"_And be sure to write."_

"Love you, Nana."

"_I love you too, sweetie. Please be careful, dear."_

Ayame pressed the 'end' button on her mobile phone. "I tell you," she told Keroberos, "she's onto something."

Keroberos, through a mouthful of biscuit, replied. "Well, nothing we can do 'bout it if that lady's sharper 'n a razor."

"Yeah."

**April 26**

The library was comfortingly quiet in contrast to the hectic world outside, and was Ayame's own personal escape. Even though studying was something in the realm of 'would rather not do' in her book, reading just for the heck of it was one of her favorite things.

"Good evening, Mrs. Michelson." She said cheerfully as she set books on the librarian's desk.

"Good evening, Miss Hazel. You seem to be in good spirits today," The blonde woman replied.

Ayame took a deep breath. "It's a beautiful day." She sighed.

"Indeed. Isn't it a relief that they got that building fixed from the explosion a few weeks ago?" The librarian said as she stamped books.

"Mm-hmm" Ayame mumbled. Looking at the older woman's face with a frown she asked, "Have you been well lately? You look awfully pale."

Mrs. Michelson sighed as she closed the last of Ayame's books. "I don't know. I've just been feeling really awful the past few days. As a matter of fact, I actually considered calling in sick!" she chuckled humorlessly.

As Ayame gathered up her books, she tilted her head to one side. "Awful how? Like a cold?"

"It's just feeling nauseous, mostly."

She grinned. "Maybe you're pregnant!"

They laughed over that for a few moments.

"But you'll see a doctor, right?" Ayame said seriously, "I'd hate to lose my favorite librarian over a stomach-ache!"

"Of course." She said.

After a quick goodbye, Ayame suddenly remembered one more thing she had wanted to check out, and headed back into the depths of shelves.

The library was eerily quiet, even for a library. There were no hushed whispers of students, no soft rustle of pages, nothing but the tap of Ayame's shoes on the wooden floor.

A few minutes passed as she picked over a shelf, trying to find the one book she was looking for. Just as she was about to take it however, a sensation that could only be described as a prickling in her head made her look around. What she saw gave her goose-bumps.

Everything…the floor, the books, the walls, was…_swirling._

Her stomach seemed to spin with the rest of her world. She closed her eyes and clutched her abdomen in an attempt to stave off nausea.

When she felt passable enough to open her eyes again, she found herself in an entirely different place than where she had been standing a not many moments ago. She seemed to be in a walled walkway, colored a revolting shade of lime green.

"Bloody _hell_…" she whispered hoarsely. "What is this?"

Coming to a realization, a sliver of panic began to creep into her veins, despite her better judgment. She made herself take a deep breath.

_Alone. I'm all alone._ She thought with dread.

Slowly, she slid down a wall and tried to take a few more lungfuls of air to calm herself down. Even so, she couldn't force down panic that was slowly, but surely rising up in her throat.

_I will not panic. I will __not__ panic. _She told herself. _I __cannot__ panic. _

Ayame made herself stand up, although shakily.

Keeping one hand to the wall, to support her wobbly legs, she walked to the end of the passageway she was in and turned the corner. A three-way intersection met her sight, and she could see almost endless junctions and passages just down the line a bit.

"Damn." She croaked. "I hate mazes."

0808080800808080808080808

Keeping one hand along the border of the maze, Ayame walked cheerlessly. She had seen nothing but this disgustingly colored wall for over half an hour.

Even though she knew grumping about was never going to get her out of this _bloody_ maze, she couldn't stop herself. There was absolutely no sign of an exit…anywhere!!

"And there's no one to talk to either," she grumbled to herself "I can't stand being alone."

Exhausted from walking around so much, she sat down against the wall for a breather. As she hit the ground, a sheet of paper fell out of her bag.

Picking it up, an idea came to her…_draw a map!!_

By drawing a map, she could figure out where she'd already been, and find her way out!!

With a new vigor instilled in her spirit, she stood up and got out her pencil…

Another thirty minutes later found Ayame with a full sheet of paper. If there were any other passageways inside the labyrinth, she hadn't found them yet.

Time to try to solve the maze.

She was fairly certain of which direction she needed to go. Earlier, she had found the back wall. All that she really needed to do would be to follow the wall until she came to the exit.

As Ayame sprinted forward, trying to keep on the wall, the floor suddenly started to shake under her feet. Before she could even drop her jaw, the maze began to reform itself. Suddenly, she stood on something that looked like had come out of one of M.C. Escher's drawings. There were sets of staircases and tunnels going every which direction, including upside-down.

"No way…" she whispered "I spent all that time on a bloody map, just for…"

She hit her fist against the wall again, only to jerk it away when another tunnel suddenly appeared. She muttered a stream of curses as she massaged her hand.

Taking stock of her surroundings, she immediately concluded that Clow Reed had an evil sense of humor. Seriously, a maze that could change itself? There was no _way_ she could get out of here, unless…

Unless…

Keroberos had once told her to try to sense a card in order to find it…that was when she captured **Illusion.** Perhaps she could try the same principle here, except backwards.

Wherever the card's aura cut off, there had to be an exit!

Ayame closed her eyes and breathed. Her magical 'vision' spread out, searching for a break in the muted light that was the card's presence in her eyes.

And…there! There was a break…but it was faint and closing rapidly.

Ayame's feet flew her along, as if they knew where to go. There was a clear vision in her head of what path she needed to take to get to the break.

Up ahead, she could she the dim light of the library shining through. There was indeed a hole in the floor, and Ayame had to jump down it quickly before it disappeared completely.

She landed gracelessly on what felt like wood. Turning quickly, she saw that the maze was reforming itself again.

"Not on _my _watch." She murmured, whipping out her key.

"Key that hides the power of the dark, show your true form before me now. I Ayame, command you, under power of our contract…**Release!!"**

As the staff extended, the card above her growled ominously. She quickly raised her staff…

"Return to the guise you were created to be in…**Clow Card!!**"

Just as she grabbed the newly-restored card out of the air, reading **The Maze**, Ayame noticed that she was standing on top of a bookshelf.

"_Hoeee!!" _she screeched, almost falling of her precarious perch.

It took a few minutes of careful work to get her self off, but when she looked at her card, it was all worth it. She always felt a fizzing happiness when another card was out of trouble and in her care

A single, resounding _BONG_ brought her attention to the giant clock on the library wall. It read 9:30 p.m. She had missed dinner.

She grimaced.

"Keroberos is _not _going to be happy." She muttered grumpily.


	5. Learning

**May 1**

Ayame had been deliberately avoiding the library after her ordeal with the **Maze **card, but in a school like hers, it was downright impossible to elude going in there for more than two weeks, at most. Today she was just supposed to be finding a topic for an essay that her History professor assigned her, but conveniently forgot about it once another thing caught her eye.

At the moment, she was in searching for that one cubicle which she had found **The Clow **in. Ever since that fateful day, she had never been able to find it again. That was about to change.

She remembered it had had an odd entrance, a slit in a bookshelf that was no wider than, say, an adult male. To be completely honest, she wouldn't have even noticed it if she hadn't almost fallen through it.

Ayame stopped walking. This place looked about right, but the entrance wasn't there. Frowning, she rested her hand on the bookshelf beside her—

And fell through.

Ayame landed very hard on her right hip, swearing all the way. How _had _she been stupid enough to try to rest her body on thin air?! It was almost as if…

Ayame looked down at her left leg. It wasn't there.

"HOEEEE?!?!?"

Instinctively she yanked the leg towards her self. She sighed with relief when it suddenly became visible again.

When she looked around, she saw all the old dusty books on magic all around her. She was here. Oddly enough, she had found the entrance.

"How did I _miss_ that?" she muttered to herself. "There it is, as plain as the nose on my-"

Ayame shut up when she heard footsteps coming her way. Obviously, someone had heard her scream.

"I don't see anybody here, Marcus…," said a male voice.

"Shut it, Phil. I _did_ hear someone." Replied a second, squeaky voice. "It might have been the next row over-"

Ayame was about to tell them that she was right here, and she was _fine_, thank you very much, albeit a little shaken, but then she saw them walk past the entrance. Their eyes swept over her as if she wasn't even there.

"That's weird," said Marcus. "I could have sworn I heard a girl scream right about here."

His friend scowled and replied, "You're just fooling yourself. There's no one here! Why do you always think you have to be so heroic? It's never going to get you a girlfriend!"

Squeaky-voice grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess you're right."

"Let's just get that book and get out of here. Libraries give me the creeps."

The boys ran out, leaving Ayame baffled. They had looked right at her, and not even seen her!

Wincing, she got up and put her hand to the entrance. It disappeared, just like her leg had, but she could still see the library beyond. She frowned and pressed it further through. Once it bypassed the front of the bookshelves that surrounded the way in, it became visible again. She pulled her hand back, and then stepped through.

It felt like stepping through cloth. As soon as she was all the way out, she looked back.

The entrance wasn't there. There was only a bookshelf.

Ayame considered this for a moment, then backed up and braced her foot against the opposite shelf.

"This is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done. I'm going to give myself a concussion." She muttered. Then, closing her eyes, she launched herself into a running leap into the shelf.

For a moment, there was that sensation of walking through cloth again, then, her knees hit the floor.

She looked around. She was in the cubicle again.

She repeated the entire exercise one more time before sprinting off to get Keroberos.

"So, what is this?!" Ayame said to the flying yellow plush toy, who was, at that moment, sitting in midair, arms and legs crossed. What Ayame had dubbed his 'thinking expression' crossed his face.

"Well…" he deliberated "it _looks_ like a combination between a _kekkai_ and a semblance spell. From what I can see, it's designed to keep people that have no magic out, or to keep them from looking at it at all. But, I dunno why a powerful spell like this would even be here in th' first place."

Ayame chewed on that for a few moments. "Well…maybe it has something to do with Headmaster Lowe banning magic here, at the school."

"Eh?" Keroberos replied eloquently.

"Things like tarot cards and palm reading are strictly forbidden. I got into the whole mess with **Windy** because the Headmaster thought she was a tarot card."

"Zat so…"

"Yeah."

Keroberos put on his 'thoughtful expression' again. "In that case, I think it mighta been that whoever did this wanted to hide th' books. So that somebody who was interested might find 'em."

Ayame scratched her temple. "Well, I don't completely get it, but I suppose that would make sense."

"Of course," he replied, looking smug "it would. _I_ came up with the idea after all."

"Keroberos..." She warned, trying to keep laughter out of her voice.

"Well, well, isn't this a good thing though?" Keroberos said happily. "You're a fledgling magician, there's a mini-library here stuffed with books on magic… I think you should spend a few weekends here."

Ayame grinned. "That's a great idea! I guess if I'm going to get into it, may as well learn my stuff, right?"

"Exactly!" he yelled happily.

"I think I'll start now!" she said, taking books down.

Keroberos' face fell. "But, but, don't you have an essay to write?"

"I can get to that later!" she said, setting books down on the table in the middle of the cubicle.

Keroberos looked slightly distressed, to say the least. All of a sudden, he snapped to attention, one eyebrow going up.

"I sense a **Clow Card…**," he said quietly.

Ayame felt a tingling pressure at the back of her mind. She memorized it as a card's presence, and filed it away for further use in the future.

"Now that you mention it…" she replied.

Keroberos shone softly with a golden light. "It doesn't feel like it's active." He said finally. "You should find it b'fore it starts making trouble."

"_Me?!?_ Shouldn't you be doing this? You can sense them better than I can-"

"Well," he interrupted, smirking, "you are the _Cardcaptor_ after all. This is your _job_, kid."

Ayame grimaced. "Manipulative, lazy little plushy…" she muttered, closing her eyes.

There it was, that faint tickling sense. If she was doing it right, then it should be…

She stood up, eyes still closed, and put her hand out to touch one of the shelves. She brushed one of the book's spines with her fingertips.

Immediately, she yanked her hand away, jumping a little as if shocked.

"Found it," she announced.

As Keroberos flew over to investigate, Ayame took the book that had shocked her off the shelf.

"This is…," he muttered.

Ayame flipped the book open. "This looks like a normal storybook," she said, frowning. "Look. It even has pictures and everything."

"It's the **Create** card!" Keroberos stated.

"**Create**?" Ayame replied inquiringly.

"Yeah…it calls people with good imaginations to it, n' then it influences them to write in it."

"…_And?_"

"The thing about **The Create**," he said, "is that anything written in it's visible form," he tapped the book to illustrate "can come to life in the real world."

"Hoee? Really?"

"Yeah. Open it to th' middle."

Ayame obeyed. The story suddenly ended halfway down the page, with the words '_We would like you to finish this story.'_ A quill lay on the opposite page, inviting her to pick it up.

"So that's how it is. Cool."

Keroberos grinned.

"Well, I suppose I have to seal it now, right?" she said, a little dejected. There were so many possibilities with a book that could create things out of nothing…

"That would be good, yeah."

Suddenly, a slightly malicious grin lit up Ayame's face

"Hang on. After I seal it, I have this incredible idea…"

* * *

The two boys that Ayame had earlier deemed 'Squeaky-voice' and 'The Ugly One' looked like they were on the verge of a colossal nosebleed.

The Ugly One twitched.

"How can I ever thank you for getting me out of that tough situation, nya?"

To his credit, Squeaky-voice was gallantly trying _not_ to stare at her very prominent, *ahem*, _assets_, but was failing. Miserably.

"I know! You two deserve a _kiss_, nya!"

They stiffened.

Leaning _down_, very _slowly,_ she gave them each a soft kiss on the forehead, also seemingly unknowingly giving them an eyeful.

She smiled sweetly at them and walked away, hips twitching from side to side. Just before she turned a corner, she turned to blow a kiss at them.

"Thanks again…_nya!"_ she said, winking at them.

They both fainted from blood loss, one because it was all over his shirt, and the other because he had none in his face.

Ayame and Keroberos were laughing their heads off as quietly as they could, erasing the woman from the book.

* * *

Eight hours later, Ayame waited until her orange companion fell asleep on her pillow before quietly getting out of bed.

She rummaged silently through her wardrobe, emerging with a slab of wood and a knife.

Sitting down in her chair, she switched the desk light on and began to carve…

* * *

A.N.; Ok, so i thought you guys deserved a break because I made you wait so long, so as a reward, I'll be uploading ANOTHER chapter tomorrow! And I promise, now that I've got most of the story laid out in my head, that I'll update more frequently. Thanks for being so patient!

3 Sencha


	6. Learning a Little More

**May 4**

_Beep Beep. Beep Beep. Beep Beep. Beep Beep. Beep Bee-_

_**SMACK.**_

Ayame groaned.

"Whose idea was it to make us get up at this ungodly hour?" she muttered to herself as her hand recovered with it's collision with her school-issued alarm clock.

She glared enviously at Keroberos, who was still sleeping soundly. _He_ didn't have to get up at 6 A.M. to get ready for school.

Of course, to be fair, she didn't exactly have to either.

She opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a book, a whittling knife, and a piece of wood, which was smaller than it was a few days ago. Switching on her desk lamp, and taking the knife in hand, she commenced carving, looking at the book frequently for the sake of reference.

About ten minutes later, her eyelids began to droop. She was so tired…

"_**OUCH**_!" she yelled.

"What!! What?" Keroberos shouted groggily, "Whaz 'appening?"

Ayame inspected her thumb. It was bleeding profusely.

"YOU'RE BLEEDING!" Keroberos shouted dramatically.

"I _know, _I know." She replied in a harsh whisper. "Do you want to wake up the whole house?!"

"_Sorry." _He replied, more quietly. "What happened?"

"Cut myself." She said, rummaging for something to stem the flow of blood.

"I could've guessed that, thanks, _how?"_

Ayame wrapped a handkerchief around her thumb. "I have to go to the nurse's office" she said.

Keroberos examined her desk. "Were you _carving_ something?" he asked bemusedly.

Ayame threw her jacket on and trotted out the door. He followed her.

"Would that" he inquired "be why you haven't been getting enough sleep lately?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I wanted it to be a surprise for you."

"What is it?"

Ayame exited the dorm building as quietly as she could. "…It's a mask." She said.

"Eh?"

She began to cross the grounds at a half-run. Her handkerchief was beginning to soak through.

"I figured that it would be bad if someone saw me while I'm capturing the Cards, so I thought I might make a mask," she said hesitantly. "I wanted to surprise you, so I've been working on it while you're asleep."

Keroberos frowned. "And y' hurt yourself."

Grimacing at her thumb, she nodded. "I was kind of falling asleep while working on it, and I lost my concentration."

He landed on her shoulder and patted her cheek. "Some secrets are better left that way, but others can hurt you and th' people around you, especially your friends."

Ayame stopped. They had arrived at the main building.

"Are we friends, Keroberos?"

He grinned. "Yeah, we are."

She grinned with him. "I'm glad."

"Well, well, you need to get to th' nurse so she can patch you up!"

She grimaced. "Right. Could you stay in my jacket pocket?" she asked, holding it open for him. He took the cue and settled there.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Ayame arrived at the hospital wing in record time. Ms. Sorenson had her own living space attached to the hospital wing, so it wouldn't be too hard to find her, but she would probably still be asleep…

As she drew closer, two sets of hushed voices met her ears. One sounded like Ms. Sorenson, the nurse, but Ayame couldn't tell who the other one was.

Hesitantly, she knocked, thinking she might be disturbing something. "Come in," said a voice from within.

Ayame checked that Keroberos was safely tucked into her pocket before opening the door slowly.

What the population of the school called the "hospital wing" was in all honesty nothing more than a spare classroom that had been converted to serve the purpose of the same. About six beds, all lined up next to each other filled up most of the space. Ms. Sorenson kept most of the hospital supplies in her office, which also doubled as living space for her.

Mrs. Michelson was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, looking very pale, and looked like she was having a discussion with Ms. Sorenson. As soon as she walked in, Ayame noticed her trying to rearrange her face into an unperturbed expression.

"Do come in Miss Hazel." Ms. Sorenson said briskly. "Was there something you needed?"

"Um…"

She held up her thumb.

The nurse shrilled in shock, and began to fuss over her and her wound like an anxious mother hen. She made her sit down on a bed right next to Mrs. Michelson and, disposing of the stained hanky, put all kinds of antibacterial ointments and things on her, finally scurrying of to get a suitable bandage.

"Um…Mrs. Michelson?" Ayame said softly, looking up at her through her bangs.

"Yes?"

"A-are you okay? I mean, you look kind of pale, but that might just be the light, but even so you look kind of like a ghost, so I…was just…wondering…"

She blushed, realizing that she was rambling.

Mrs. Michelson smiled, but it looked somewhat forced. "Well, how should I put this…" she sighed. "I found out why I'm sick."

Ayame raised one of her eyebrows in curiosity.

She chuckled. "I guess you'll be the first to find out. I'm pregnant."

After blinking once or twice, Ayame replied, "I was kidding," in total deadpan.

Mrs. Michelson let out a real laugh this time.

By then the nurse had returned. "Isn't it wonderful?" she said to no one in general. "I'll have to get my baby sister to make a quilt—she loves doing things like that. And then we'll have to throw you a baby shower!!"

"Er, don't you think it's a bit early to be doing that?" the librarian interjected.

"Hmm…I'll have to make something too…" Ayame thought aloud. "I can't cook, so that's out…- _OW!!"_

"Well if you'd stop moving, that wouldn't happen, now would it?" shrilled Ms. Sorenson, who was attempting to bandage her thumb. "I don't think you'll be able to do much of anything with this hand for awhile…are you right-handed?"

"I'm -_ouch-_ ambidextrous," she replied. "But I tend to write better with my right hand…"

"Well you'll just have to use your left for awhile," the nurse stated conclusively.

"So…have you thought about names yet?" Ayame said, returning the conversation to Mrs. Michelson.

"Of course not! I just found out!" the librarian said. She sounded happy for the most part, but also a little bit frantic.

"Delaine, are you all right with this?" Ms. Sorensen said quietly, a frown crossing her face. "I know if it were me, I'd be simply delighted but…"

Mrs. Michelson sighed, tracing a pattern on the bedspread. "Well of course I'm happy…my husband will be _hysterical_ with joy when I tell him…but…"

Ayame and Ms. Sorenson waited patiently for her to continue.

"Well, things will be changing," she sighed. "I'll need to get new clothes, we'll need to get baby things…and the school will have to hire an assistant librarian that I'll need to train."

"An assistant librarian?" Ayame stated curiously.

"Yes. I'll need more help putting books away on the higher shelves, and when I feel too awful to come to school, someone will have to take over. Then after the baby is born, I'll have to take leave for a few months.."

"Oh." She replied.

_Darn. They really do have to hire someone. I thought I might help out but…_She sighed. _It's an adult's job after all._

Ms. Sorenson 'hmfph'-ed. "You're worrying to much," she declared sharply. "Does it not say in the Bible that 'Even the lilies do not labor and spin, but yet your Father in Heaven clothes them'?"

"It does indeed say that."

"Then stop your fussing right now. And you," she said, turning to Ayame, "go back to your dorm and get in some more sleep, 'lest you be nodding off during class. Shoo."

She shooed, only stopping briefly to say "Congratulations" to Mrs. Michelson.

"Well, isn't that nice? Mrs. Michelson is going to have a baby, Keroberos."

Silence.

"Keroberos?"

…

Ayame prodded her jacket pocket open, only to hear magnified versions of the rumbling sound she had heard all the way back to her room.

"How is it possible for you to fall asleep in such an uncomfortable place?" she mumbled, placing him gently on her pillow.

"…but he _hates _jelly beans…" he mumbled.

Ignoring him and his dream-induced babbling, she sat down at her desk again.

"Must _not_ fall asleep and injure myself…," she said to herself. She picked up her piece of wood once more, careful of her hurt hand. "Well, at least I have a guard against doing _that_ again." She looked at her thick bandage and grinned.

**May 5**

The sun was not quite off the horizon when Keroberos was rudely awakened by someone picking him up and swinging him around, yelling at the top of their lungs: "It's done! It's done!"

"NAAAIIIYAAAA!!! CUT IT OUT SA-"

He shut himself up, horrified, as he spun around in a few more tight circles.

He had almost called Ayame 'Sakura'.

"I finished it Keroberos! The mask! Look!"

Ayame held it up for him to see. After staring blankly for a few seconds, he shook his head to clear it.

"Wha'? It looks like a butterfly."

Ayame frowned a little. "Well, I suppose you can't tell, without me having painted it yet, but it's supposed to be a luna moth."

"Luna…?"

"Yes! There aren't any around here, but I thought they looked really cool! Check it out." She held up her book, pointing to a full-page color spread of a female luna moth.

Keroberos blinked.

"Well, I have to go buy rabbit skin glue, and wood paint. You want to come with?"

Keroberos shook his head. "I…I think I have a headache. I'll pass."

"Eh?" Ayame replied, her face falling. "You have a headache? _You _can get _headaches_?" Setting down her mask, she put a finger to his forehead. "I don't think you have a fever, but then again I don't know a lot about the health habits of magical, flying creatures. Maybe you're crashing from a sugar rush." Her eyes opened a little wider as she stiffened in realization. Suddenly her expression hardened into one of anger. "_Have you been into my snack stash again?_"

"Absolutely not!" Keroberos defended instantly, a large bead of sweat rolling conspicuously down his forehead. "What purpose would I have for taking Lady Ayame's snacks…without her permission, no less!"

Ayame grimaced. "Now you're just brown-nosing. You have, haven't you?"

He sighed dramatically. "Here I am, your loyal friend, ailing, and you heartlessly accuse me of stealing?" He fell on her pillow, limbs splayed out. "Go without me! I shall stay and suffer…alone…!"

She snorted. "Suffer all you want. Just stay out of my stuff, ok?" Glancing at her watch, she muttered, "Damn it, I'm going to be late for the bus…" She fairly leapt for her bag, and then for the door.

"One more thing!" Keroberos said just as she had her hand on the door knob.

"What?!"

"Just as long as you're making a mask…why not go for the whole she-bang, and get a costume?"

Ayame blinked, thinking for a moment before replying, "I'll think about it. Got to go, see you later!"

Keroberos listened to her retreating footsteps for a while. Heaving a great sigh for such a small creature, he spoke to the ceiling…

"I can't believe I almost called her Sakura…what's wrong with me?" he asked himself.

The orange living plush toy closed his eyes, examining the frosted green aura that belonged to the Cardcaptor he had chosen. It only just showed above her skin, but it was there.

_I don't recognize what kind of magic she has, but…it's similar to Sakura's, just a bit. _He thought to himself. _It's not the power of a star…but the warmth is like hers._

_

* * *

_

Ayame smiled as she recalled the pleasant man at the hobby shop who had helped her pick out the things she needed. He had been so nice, she thought. Even though he seemed slightly annoyed at her indecisiveness near the end, he still patiently plowed through her list. Now she had all the things she needed to finish her mask.

She glanced at the sun's position in the sky, then at her watch. It was just barely after noon. She had three hours to kill.

Keroberos had said something about getting a costume.

"Well, I suppose I can't fight in my school uniform all the time," she said to herself.

Gritting her teeth, she hoisted her shopping bag over one shoulder, making a beeline for the thrift store.

Her thought was to find something comfortable and easy to move around in. Moreover, resources willing, make it match the mask.

About an hour later, she had no luck.

She sat down for a breather, massaging her temples. She could feel the beginnings of a large headache coming on her.

Just as she was considering calling it a day, a flash of honey-colored light caught the corner of her eye. Ayame cricked her neck turning to see it.

The light was gone, as if it had never been. "Was it just my imagination?" she muttered to herself, rubbing her neck.

As if her eyes were directed toward it, she found herself staring at a plastic-covered hanger. Picking it up, she could make out the outline of a dress.

Ayame's sensible part screamed that this was no time to be browsing though formal wear, but she couldn't help herself. Little by little, she tugged the plastic bag up over it.

She gasped.

It was a cheongsam; a Chinese-style dress. That was the common word for it. Ayame's mind gave her another one- _qipao._ It's color was a rich, dark purple, which contrasted sharply with the sunny yellow orchids that decorated the front. The borders and frog ties were in chocolate brown.

If her sense of touch hadn't completely failed her, she was sure that it was made with all silk.

The price made her jaw sag. It was ridiculously cheap.

On top of all that, without even trying it on, she had an uncanny sense that it would fit her perfectly.

Her sense of logic and order catching up with her silk-dazzled mind, Ayame believed that the whole thing was ridiculous. What insane type of joke was the world trying to play on her?!

"_It just doesn't do," _Nana had said once, _"to turn away from something that is clearly meant to be. There are no coincidences in this world, there is only the inevitable."_

As Ayame dusted a finger over one of the embroidered flowers, she remembered her Nana's wisdom, and grinned.


End file.
